Friday: Further Thought - God Is Passionate and Compassionate

Daily Lesson for Friday 24th of January 2025

Read Ellen G. White, “The Beatitudes,” Pages 6–44, in Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“All who have a sense of their deep soul poverty, who feel that they have nothing good in themselves, may find righteousness and strength by looking unto Jesus. He says, ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden.’ Matthew 11:28. He bids you exchange your poverty for the riches of His grace. We are not worthy of God’s love, but Christ, our surety, is worthy, and is abundantly able to save all who shall come unto Him. Whatever may have been your past experience, however discouraging your present circumstances, if you will come to Jesus just as you are, weak, helpless, and despairing, our compassionate Saviour will meet you a great way off, and will throw about you His arms of love and His robe of righteousness. He presents us to the Father clothed in the white raiment of His own character. He pleads before God in our behalf, saying: I have taken the sinner’s place. Look not upon this wayward child, but look on Me. Does Satan plead loudly against our souls, accusing of sin, and claiming us as his prey, the blood of Christ pleads with greater power.”—Ellen G. White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, Pages 8, 9.

Discussion Questions

Look at what inspiration above said about how, thanks to Jesus, we are presented to the Father. “He presents us to the Father clothed in the white raiment of His own character.” No matter how discouraged we might get at times over our faults and shortcomings, or how often we don’t reflect to others the kind of love that God pours out on us, why must we always come back to the wonderful news that we are accepted by the Father because Jesus “presents us to the Father clothed in the white raiment of His own character”?
Imagine how the mother must have felt in the case of the two women who came before Solomon claiming the same baby was their child. Consider again the language of emotion described in 1 Kings 3:26. How does this shed light on the same kind of language that is used to describe God’s emotions for His people, in Hosea 11:8?
Throughout the Gospels, we have seen that Jesus often was moved by the needs of people. And what did He do? He acted in a way that addressed the people’s needs. What are practical ways that you as an individual, or even perhaps as a class, can meet the needs of those who need comforting?

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I was sitting at my computer, drumming my fingers on the desk trying to think of a metaphor or illustration to summarise this week's lesson. I had been out with my camera all morning trying to photograph birds and had caught up with one of my friends who used to be a Seventh-day Adventist. We often discuss church, the gospel, the state of the world, and sometimes birds. I asked him about his relationship with the church. He said he felt unwanted and uninvolved. He had no great disagreement with the doctrines, no personality clash with the administrators. He has kept the Adventist lifestyle but he just quietly slipped out the door because he felt un-needed and unwanted.

In the context of God's passion and compassion, what lesson is there in this for us. I make the point that all too often we have been more concerned about the purity of the church, than the passionate love of God for us.

I can easily remember back a few years when women's ordination was the topic on everyone's minds. We actually did not allow this discussion on Sabbath School Net after a while because the comments became so toxic. We had discussions on the investigative judgment and its timing that turned into rather acrimonious debates. And other arguments have consumed us from time to time.

People left our faith community as a result of these arguments, and those of us who remained behind talked about the "shaking time" in revered tones as though it was a fulfilment of prophecy.

My observation is this: God was compassionate to us while we were still sinners, and I wonder if sometimes we run short in reflecting that compassion on one another. Are we so consumed in the pursuit of purity that we lack compassion?

I could have written another illustration about God's passion and compassion, but I think the time has come to put away stories and illustrations and do a bit of soul searching and ask ourselves how we has Christians go about showing compassion to others - like Jesus did. Maybe we should say sorry to some people we have argued with, not because we were wrong, but we let the argument replace compassion.

Paul has this to say:

Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do.
2 Cor:5:15 MSG

Compassion is tough and sometimes messy but I love my messy church that is compassionate to cranky old men.

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Comments

Friday: Further Thought – God Is Passionate and Compassionate — 8 Comments

Maurice Ashton on January 23, 2025 at 5:13 pm said:

I was sitting at my computer, drumming my fingers on the desk trying to think of a metaphor or illustration to summarise this week's lesson. I had been out with my camera all morning trying to photograph birds and had caught up with one of my friends who used to be a Seventh-day Adventist. We often discuss church, the gospel, the state of the world, and sometimes birds. I asked him about his relationship with the church. He said he felt unwanted and uninvolved. He had no great disagreement with the doctrines, no personality clash with the administrators. He has kept the Adventist lifestyle but he just quietly slipped out the door because he felt un-needed and unwanted.

In the context of God's passion and compassion, what lesson is there in this for us. I make the point that all too often we have been more concerned about the purity of the church, than the passionate love of God for us.

I can easily remember back a few years when women's ordination was the topic on everyone's minds. We actually did not allow this discussion on Sabbath School Net after a while because the comments became so toxic. We had discussions on the investigative judgment and its timing that turned into rather acrimonious debates. And other arguments have consumed us from time to time.

People left our faith community as a result of these arguments, and those of us who remained behind talked about the "shaking time" in revered tones as though it was a fulfilment of prophecy.

My observation is this: God was compassionate to us while we were still sinners, and I wonder if sometimes we run short in reflecting that compassion on one another. Are we so consumed in the pursuit of purity that we lack compassion?

I could have written another illustration about God's passion and compassion, but I think the time has come to put away stories and illustrations and do a bit of soul searching and ask ourselves how we has Christians go about showing compassion to others - like Jesus did. Maybe we should say sorry to some people we have argued with, not because we were wrong, but we let the argument replace compassion.

Paul has this to say:

Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do.
2 Cor:5:15 MSG

Compassion is tough and sometimes messy but I love my messy church that is compassionate to cranky old men.

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JC Zielak on January 24, 2025 at 1:40 am said:

With the heart that God has, how can He not be sad with all the madness in this world? How much do we suffer when our sons or daughters choose wrong? Imagine having billions to take care of!

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- Rosamund W-Gibbons on January 25, 2025 at 2:27 am said:
  
  A few years ago, while visiting a very poor country, with OMAT, we spotted an emaciated lady sitting at the beach. In her lap was an apparently 'more-emaciated' baby. At her request, we purchased a bottle of milk and handed it to mom, "For the baby." No sooner had the bottle left the hand of the giver, than the mother snatched it and, to our horror, gobbled the contents ALL down! ALL of it. "She didn't even give the child any," someone lamented, thinking that the rescue had failed. Attention was almost lost, when, disregarding privacy, the mother began to nurse the eagerly-attached child. Needless to say, no oral translation was necessary, then. Her love was demonstrated through her passion and provision for her child. In compassion, she'd acted as she knew best. How much more passionately is our Compassionate Father willing to strategize - literally move heaven and earth - to save us! -RG
  
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  - Tim Heischberg on January 25, 2025 at 7:32 am said:
    
    Rosamund, that is an amazing illustration that could easily be misconstrued. In the preflight safety talk on board airplanes by flight attendants, they tell you, "in the event of cabin depressurization, oxygen masks will fall down from the overhead. First place your mask over your face before putting on your child's mask on theirs." The reason for this is that you can't help your child if you asphyxiate.
    
    This woman understood that by first consuming the milk herself, which could be indigestible by her baby, she would be able to produce digestable mother's milk for her
    child. So what initially looked like a cold hearted and selfish act was actually an act of love.
    
    Don't we sometimes misconstrue God’s actions in much the same way?
    
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Novlette A. Johnson on January 24, 2025 at 2:55 am said:

Refelecting on the first question in Friday"s lesson. Here is a key thought. The nature of God"s love as unconditional forces us to lose our own concept of love and depend on his measure of love to consume us. Our expressions is fake and empty but we find full assurance of his atoning love to stand boldly before the Father. Sharing this experience of love gived us no option but to share this love to others. Like a gas station, Christ's love stands ready to refuel us when we run on empty. Great assurances!

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Tim Heischberg on January 24, 2025 at 5:49 am said:

What a wonderful, merciful Savior we have! He took our sins of which he had no part, and gave us his righteousness of which we have no part. There is no god like our God. Hallelujah! Amen!

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John Herscher on January 25, 2025 at 5:42 am said:

Let us take this forgiveness that God freely gives us and use it to have compassion on those who we come in contact with. Starting in our home, then in our church, and in every day walk of life. We will be moved to compassion as we contemplate and realize the goodness of God.

‭Lamentations 3:22 AMPC‬
[22] It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. [Mal. 3:6.]

‭Lamentations 3:25 AMPC‬
[25] The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God's word]

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Gary Whiteman on January 25, 2025 at 8:00 am said:

The first question for today’s lesson states “…Jesus”presents us to the Father clothed in the white raiment of His own character?”…

How does this actually occur? How do I become clothed in Jesus’s character?

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